Short answer: highly unlikely—both because of how U.S. law classifies CBD today and because of the time it would take to change that system.
First, a quick correction of terms. The FDA does not “approve” dietary supplements the way it approves drugs. Supplements reach the market without pre-approval, but they must comply with rules (e.g., truthful labeling, cGMPs). New ingredients typically go through a “new dietary ingredient” (NDI) notification, or a company may pursue a GRAS evaluation for use in foods. CBD currently can do neither in the way most brands want.
Why? Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s drug-exclusion clause, CBD is the active ingredient in Epidiolex® (an approved prescription drug). That status excludes CBD from the legal definition of a dietary supplement ingredient unless the FDA creates an exception by rulemaking—which the agency has explicitly said it will not do under current authorities. In January 2023, the FDA concluded the existing food and supplement frameworks are “not appropriate” for CBD and asked Congress to create a new pathway. The position remained unchanged in the FDA’s 2024 update.
Could Congress fix it in time for 2026? Bills introduced in the 118th Congress—such as the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act (H.R. 1629) to allow hemp-derived CBD in supplements and the CBD Product Safety and Standardization Act (H.R. 1628) to regulate CBD in foods—did not become law. Without enacted legislation, the FDA has no new authority to treat CBD like other supplement ingredients. Even if a bill passes late in 2025 or 2026, the FDA would still need to set specifications, limits, labeling, and manufacturing standards through guidance and/or rulemaking—timelines that typically extend well beyond a year.
Meanwhile, FDA enforcement and research signals remain cautious. In 2025, the FDA continued issuing warning letters to firms selling CBD and other cannabis-derived products with unlawful drug claims or food uses, and it reiterated safety concerns such as liver enzyme elevations observed at therapeutic doses in drug trials. Those concerns inform the agency’s reluctance to let CBD into mainstream food and supplement channels without a bespoke framework (e.g., serving limits, age gates, contraindication labeling).
Add one more headwind: Congress has been focused on tightening “intoxicating hemp derivative” loopholes from the 2018 Farm Bill (e.g., delta-8/10 THC), which competes for legislative attention and may delay a clean CBD pathway.
What this means for CBD drinks by 2026
- Dietary supplement route: Unless Congress enacts a CBD-specific pathway and FDA implements it unusually fast, CBD will remain excluded from the supplement definition through at least 2026. “FDA-approved dietary supplement” status for CBD drinks is not a realistic expectation.
- Conventional beverage route: Similar constraints apply to adding CBD to foods/beverages in interstate commerce; FDA has said its current food authorities aren’t appropriate for CBD, again pending Congressional action.
- State-by-state patchwork: Some states permit CBD foods or “hemp extract” beverages under local rules, but that does not equal federal legality and remains vulnerable to FDA action or future federal preemption. Ongoing warning letters reinforce this risk.
Bottom line: Without a Congressional fix and subsequent FDA implementation, CBD drinks are very unlikely to attain lawful, federally recognized dietary supplement status by 2026. Brands should plan for a continued patchwork market, avoid drug claims, and monitor any federal movement on a CBD-specific pathway that could eventually set serving limits, purity standards, and labeling requirements.